EER KEQs: Demonstrating how effectively we manage important compliance accountabilities – KEQ #6

How effectively are important compliance accountabilities managed?

In this this post, we look at KEQ #6, the final process question and the last of six EER key evaluative questions. This KEQ asks us to talk to the processes we have in place to effectively manage important compliance accountabilities.

Unitec has an extensive oversight of academic quality and educational performance through a range of quality assurance and compliance reporting, Boards and Committees, and processes, enabling a quick response to address risks and monitor targets.

This is managed through:

Academic quality assurance; which is supported by a comprehensive Quality Management Framework overseen by Te Poara Mātauranga Academic Board and its sub-committees, and administered by Te Korowai Kahurangi, our academic quality team. The framework includes:

- Unitec Risk Register – real-time oversight of risks and mitigations to support executive decision-making
  Power BI Academic Risk Dashboard – August 2020
- Academic Risk Register – overseen by Academic Board who monitor and generate monthly reporting on risks and mitigations, escalate as required to Academic Risk Working Group, also accessed by Programme Academic Quality Committees
- Academic reporting structure for Schools and Support teams which includes updates on Priority Group Success Strategies and parity targets
- Programme Academic Quality Committees – quarterly reporting every quarter to the Quality Alignment Board
- Programme Evaluation and Planning processes which are aligned with the Āta Kōrero framework

2. Effective compliance management processes which includes:

- Academic compliance – Student Management System reporting and TEC Single Data Return,
- Health and Safety – We have an exemplary occupational health and safety management systems, which is superior to many other ITPs. Continuous improvement is monitored using the Safe365 software tool. We currently have a rating of 65% and similar organisations rate at around 54%
- International Orientation – Powhiri
  
  International and Domestic Codes of Practice – We support these requirement with our own student-centric approach which includes Orientation programmes (customised for domestic and international students), extensive pastoral and academic care support resources. Formal compliance is undertaken by staff through our capability development programme
- Legal compliance – Managed by our own in-house Senior Legal Counsel (Sinead Hart) and to be updated by the new Unitec Board who will be appointing an Audit and Risk Committee

References and documents:

What are ‘key evaluation questions’ – KEQs?

The KEQs – key evaluation questions – are the questions that the EER panel are particularly interested in when reviewing institutions and are what we use when evaluating our programmes.

There are six KEQs; two are outcome questions and four are process questions. They ask us to talk to student achievement, value of outcomes for students and stakeholders, programme effectiveness in design and delivery, student support and engagement, governance and management, and compliance.

It’s important that you are familiar with the KEQs which are not only essential for our EER in October but for the day-to-day analysis of what we do, to ensure our academic quality supports and drives student success.

Getting familar with the KEQs

To learn more about the NZQA KEQs we’ll post a new story each week that captures an example of the KEQs in action, as well as the data and documents we have to demonstrate how we have responded.

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